1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the selective breeding of thoroughbred racehorses to achieve an elite racehorse having racing class and capable of optimum speed and soundness. Such selective breeding concentrates the same or similar physical traits from the family tree of the sire and dam to create a homogeneous family.
2. Prior Art
A thoroughbred horse is a specific breed of horse. Thoroughbred horse races use such breed of horse.
The thoroughbred racehorses, which run in such races, are the result of controlled breeding that has occurred over hundreds of years. Records are meticulously maintained and rigidly controlled with respect to the sire and dam of all thoroughbred racehorses. The racing records, which give the times and performance of a given racehorse in each of its races, are again carefully maintained. Generally speaking, the faster a racehorse can run, under given distances and conditions, the more desirable and valuable is the racehorse.
Racehorses, which create stellar racing records, are considered elite racehorses. Such elite racehorses are rare. Out of the about 50,000 thoroughbred foals born each year, very few become top flight racehorses, and even fewer become elite racehorses, such as stakes winners. Some 3% of the racehorses born each year become stakes winners.
It is, of course, commonly known and accepted that a substantial factor in creating an elite racehorse, is its breeding. It is known that certain sires have had many fast and successful, and hence valuable, progeny. Northern Dancer, for instance, has had more elite racehorses in his progeny by far than most other sires. He had an outstanding racing record and has been able to pass these characteristics of speed to his progeny, and to succeeding generations.
On the other hand, other outstanding male racehorses, such as Secretariat, were far less successful as sires and could not pass on their outstanding racing ability to any great extent.
In both examples set forth above, the prior art practice of selection of racehorses for breeding was followed. Simply put, a fast sire was bred to a fast mare based on the individual racing record of both the sire and mare. It was also observed that certain families or blood lines consistently produced good racehorses when combined with other families or blood lines. However, such breeding selections were hit or miss and inconsistent, and therefore unreliable.
The objective of the present invention is to provide means for aiding in the breeding of racehorses having the elite racehorse as its standard. In order to achieve such breeding on a more successful basis than in the past, the invention provides a genetic analysis, by means of a genetic dominance tree (GDT) constructed for the given racehorse being considered for breeding. To create such a GDT, the invention first requires that a representative physical characteristic be established, which is measurable in each racehorse. I have determined that a specific length measurement on the racehorse is a desirable representative physical characteristic. This specific measurement is of a combined body length (CBL) of a racehorse.
Based on enough actual measurements of such CBL""s, the range of the measurements of this characteristic is then charted, in increments, for a representative thoroughbred racehorse population. The resulting chart is representative of the entire thoroughbred racehorse population. The representative physical characteristic (CBL) is then analyzed in the GDT using indicia to indicate its incremental position in the thoroughbred racehorse population, to see whether there is a dominant constant of such (CBL) characteristic in the GDT of a given racehorse.
Matings are made between a given sire and mare when the dominant constant representative physical characteristic (CBL) in the GDT of the sire and mare are compatible. I have determined that in such a mating, the progeny have improved chances of inheriting this same dominant representative physical characteristics which in turn yields a horse having desirable conformation consistent with its heredity. Such consistency increases its chances of being an elite racehorse.
In summary, the present invention is directed to genetic analysis means in the form of a GDT having means for determining whether, over successive generations in the family tree of a horse, (1) there exists a dominant representative physical characteristic (CBL), and if it does exist, (2) the identity of such dominant constant representative physical characteristic. A mating is made between a sire and dam wherein each has a dominant constant that is compatible with the other.